Unilateral divorce under muslim law

Dear Lawyers,
I am a 46 yrs old Muslim lady. I am married second time to a Muslim person after my first husband died 20 yrs back. My second husband has another family and they know about this marriage. I am his second wife and we don't have any kids from this marriage. However, I have a son and a daughter from my first marriage. I am staying with these two children in my first husband's home. All of us including his (the second husband) family stay in the same village in West Bengal. My second husband visited me regularly and helped me with my property handling and etc. At the same time he abused me in many ways, occasionally alleged that I was involved in adultery and he always stopped me from visiting my relatives and neighbors. He threatened me with a warning of bad consequences if I didn't listen to him. I could not do much to get rid of him due to his influence in the village. I also suffered this just to take care of my children and their education. Although my kids are grown up now, my husband continued abusing me. He demands more regularly from me, that I am unable to provide now. Hope you understood this. I tried to stop him. But he became more violent in last few yrs. I am totally broken now. I want to take divorce from him but he refuges to do so and threatens me. In this situation i need your kind help with the following queries:
1. Can I get unilateral divorce from him? I dont need any alimony.
2. How long will it take to get the divorce?
3. Do I need to have a advocate and go to family Court? or a Muslim marriage office is enough to get the divorce?
4. My daughter is married off recently and my son stays out side of West Bengal. I am scared staying alone in my home, can I appeal for divorce in any court/ marriage office outside West Bengal ?
5. I don't have the marriage certificate with me. Do i need to have one during filing the appeal for divorce? As far as I remember, the marriage was registered by a Marriage registrar in front of 1/2 witnesses under normal Muslim marriage act.
I don't have any idea about legal process on this matter. Please advise, how i should proceed..

Asked 1 year ago in Family Law from undisclosed, West Bengal

Religion: Muslim

1) under dissolution of muslim marriage act muslim lady cans eek divorce on grounds of cruelty . if husband Habitually assaults her or makes her life miserable by cruelty of conduct even if such conduct does not amount to physical illtreatment it would amount to cruelty
2) she can also seek divorce on grounds that The husband has failed to provide maintenance to the wife for at least two years.
3)i t is a legal obligation of every husband to maintain his wife, and if he fails to do so, the wife may seek divorce on this ground. A husband may not maintain his wife either because he neglects her or because he has no means to provide her maintenance. In both the cases the result would be the same.
4) you can get divorce if you prove allegations made against your husband
5) only local lawyer can guide you as to time taken for divorce . better engage alawyer in this regard
6)you can file fr divorce wherein you are residing after marriage .
7) you can obtain a protection order from court against your husband by filing a complaint before magistrate under domestic violence act
8) even without marriage certificate you can file for divorce . you must have wedding photographs , invitation card of marriage . it should suffice

1. Yes by way of Triple Talalq.
2. Pronouncement of talaq and issuance of talaqnama by quazi. Then return of Den Mehr and your acceptance of it. Within a a month the whole procedure will complete.
3. No advocate is required. This is recognised method of divorce under Sharia law.
4. Yes, you can under Muslim Marriage Dissolution Act, if your husband does not give you triple talaq as stated above.
5. No, other proof of marriage like photo, card etc will do.

1. You can file for divorce against him in the court. You can certainly get divorce even if he contests your case.
2. How long it will take depends on local factors such as judge-population ratio and the pendency of cases in the court.
3. You cannot get divorce from a Muslim marriage office. You have to file for divorce in the court.
4. You can file for divorce only where you are residing.
5. To remedy the abuse which you have suffered you may either claim compensation or seek a restraint order against him from the court.
6. Marriage certificate is not required if you have some photographs of the marriage.

Hi, you can file a petition for divorce in the court in which jurisdiction you are resided or in the place of your marriage in which jurisdiction your marriage taken place.
2. After filing a petition for divorce notice has to be sent to your husband and you can't ask for divorce unilaterally.
3. For filling a divorce petition proof of your marriage is very much very important, you have to produce the documents to show that you marriage has been performed.

1. Can I get unilateral divorce from him? I dont need any alimony.
There is no term called as unilateral divorce. If you want to divorce your husband, if he agrees, as per Muslim personal law you both can have mutual divorce by Khula, if he is not agreeing for it, you can file a divorce petition before a family court within your jurisdiction under section 2 of Dissolution of Muslim Marriage Act, 1939.
2. How long will it take to get the divorce?
It depends on how the respondent husband reacts and contests the case and also on the burden of the court.
3. Do I need to have a advocate and go to family Court? or a Muslim marriage office is enough to get the divorce?
It is not necessary to engage an advocate in the family court but if you are not knowing the legal procedures, it is advisable to engage one.
4. My daughter is married off recently and my son stays out side of West Bengal. I am scared staying alone in my home, can I appeal for divorce in any court/ marriage office outside West Bengal ?
You can file the divorce case from the place of your residence.
5. I don't have the marriage certificate with me. Do i need to have one during filing the appeal for divorce? As far as I remember, the marriage was registered by a Marriage registrar in front of 1/2 witnesses under normal Muslim marriage act.
You need to produce the proof of your marriage before the court where you seek divorce under the referred act.

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